Lawmaker Says Teleworkers Should be Rewarded during Closings

February 11, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia) wants the Office of Personnel Management to consider incentives for employees who work remotely while the government is shutdown.

Connolly asked the OPM to document productivity savings
from telework and to consider how employees who work remotely are
disproportionately affected by closures, according to Govexec.com. He said he
didn’t want to discourage telework, and hoped to talk to OPM Director John
Berry about incentives to reward employees who telework when the work day is
canceled for their office-working colleagues.

“You’ve got this double standard,” said Connolly,
according to the news report. “The rest of the workforce is given a free
day, but if you’ve signed a telework agreement in some agencies, you’re
required to work from a remote location. Obviously unintentionally, it serves
as a disincentive.”

He praised Berry for using the government closures to
encourage managers and employees to put telework agreements to use, and for
working to expand telework since he was sworn in last spring. The federal
government has for years encouraged the use of telework arrangements, but has
found employees timid to sign on (see Federal Workers Timid about Teleworking Opportunities).

The situation gives food for thought to other employers
who might be experiencing the same issue during the unusually heavy winter
weather this year. A nationwide survey by Cisco indicates companies may be
unprepared to enable the majority of their employees to effectively telework
during workforce disruptions such as transit failures, natural disasters, or
other situations in which employees can’t get to the office for extended
periods (see Employers Ill Prepared if Employees Can’t Get to Work).

Though another study
by Cisco found those who telecommute experience a significant increase in
work-life flexibility, productivity, and overall satisfaction (see Cisco Study Finds Substantial Telecommuting Benefits), is that enough reward
for teleworkers when office-working employees get the day off?